Belgian railway line 25

The Belgian railway line 25 is the oldest railway line in Belgium. It connects the main two cities in Belgium: Brussels and Antwerp. The section between Brussels and Mechelen was completed in on May 5, 1835 and was the first railroad in Belgium. On May 3, 1836, the second section (between Mechelen and Antwerp) was opened. It was extended to Luchtbal in the north of Antwerp in 2007 in order to shorten the route from Amsterdam to Brussels. The total line runs 47.6 km.[1]

Belgian railway line 25
NMBS 809 (type MS75) arrives at platform 4 of Mechelen Nekkerspoel station in 2012
Overview
StatusOperational
LocaleBelgium
TerminiBrussels-North railway station
Antwerpen-Luchtbal railway station
Service
Operator(s)National Railway Company of Belgium
History
Opened1835-2007
Technical
Line length48 km (30 mi)
Number of tracksdouble track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification3 kV DC
Route map

 Line from Brussels-South
 0.0 Brussels-North
Line from Namur
Line to Ghent
 2.4 Schaarbeek
Line to Leuven
Line to Halle
 7.3 Buda
from Leuven
9.4 Vilvoorde
 13.6 Eppegem
to Muizen
 15.9 Weerde
from Dendermonde
 20.4 Mechelen
to Leuven
22.0 Mechelen-Nekkerspoel
 26.5 Sint-Katelijne-Waver
 River Nete
 28.9 Duffel
to Lier
33.8 Kontich
 36.2 Hove
to Mortsel
38.1 Mortsel-Oude-God
39.7 Mortsel-Deurnesteenweg
from Mortsel
from Lier
Line from Ghent
 42.8 Antwerpen-Berchem
Line to Roosendaal
43.8 Antwerpen-Centraal
Line from Antwerpen-Centraal
 Albert Canal
 47.6 Antwerpen-Luchtbal
HSL 4 to Rotterdam
 Line to Roosendaal

Over most of its length it is paralleled by line 27 so that 4 tracks are available. During business hours, line 25 serves fast trains while local trains use line 27.

The line goes through the following stations:

L25N

A recent addition is line 25N, which branches off south of Mechelen to follow the E19 motorway into the Diabolo to Brussels National Airport. As of 2019, works are underway to extend this line 25N through the Mechelen station, adding two platforms, to rejoin the "regular" line 25 North of Nekkerspoel station.[2] L25N has 25 kV electric power, and allows speeds up to 220 km/h.

References
  1. "Ligne 25 : Bruxelles-Nord - Antwerpen-Centraal". BelRail.be. 10 August 2007.
  2. Transformatie Mechelse stationsomgeving definitief van start, 7 januari 2013, Knack
  • Local language network overview
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